FEI is a college football rating system based on opponent-adjusted drive efficiency. Approximately 20,000 possessions are contested annually in FBS vs. FBS games. First-half clock-kills and end-of-game garbage drives and scores are filtered out. Special Teams Efficiency (STE) is the average value generated per non-garbage possession by a team's non-offensive and non-defensive units.

Field Goal Efficiency (FGE) is the average value generated per field goal attempt as compared with national success rates and proximity to the end zone. Kickoff Return Efficiency (KRE) and Kickoff Efficiency (KE) are the average values generated per kickoff based on field position at the conclusion of the play. Punt Return Efficiency (PRE) and Punt Efficiency (PE) are the average values generated per punt based on the field position of the punt team and the field position at the conclusion of the play. Net starting field position (NFP) is the difference between the average starting field position for the team's offensive possessions (OFP) and its opponent's offensive possessions (DFP) measured in terms of yards from the end zone.